Virgin Coconut oil

I am thinking about adding virgin coconut oil to the daily diet of my gliders. Some know they are getting older and I think it has the potential to help them in many ways.

So I wonder if anyone here used it for their gliders? I can find references to it being used for health benefits of other animals but obviously not gliders. And it has been used extensively by humans.

I also know that 2 of my gliders love this stuff and will lick it off my fingers without it being mixed into anything.

VCO is a medium chain fat which doesn't have the health risks of many other oils and fats.

Here is a good basic article about the benefits of VCO but there are many more if anyone is interested.

Coconut Oil

That was a very interesting read, Anita. I actually read the whole article and am now thinking about getting some. (more for us, the humans here at home. lol)

Thanks for posting this.

I feed it to my gliders every so often, usually I heat up a few cranberries in the oil and the girls love it. I have been wondering if it would make a great addition to their regular diet. I have noticed that every time my girls get a helping of it the rest of the week their fur is decreased in cracks but I am not sure if it is a coincidence.

That's interesting about the fur cracking. I think I will try it for them more than just the few tastes they have had and see what happens.

Davie, it might be helpful for you. Start slowly and build up. It can have a laxative effect if try to go alot of it until you get used to it. Personal experience on that one. LOL I also have a really good and easy sugar free chocolate you you could make in the micro if you want it...if you like DARK chocolate. Not for gliders but it is real creamy and good.

Edit to add:

BTW I just remembered. I've sauteed their chicken in VCO a couple of times. I might continue to do that and start adding a little more to their food and see what happens.

Fur cracking. Hmmm. My gliders have gotten a little cracked-looking here over the last year and it MAY be because my husband is working from home now, in the glider room/office. (constant electronics/computer/laptop/monitors...I bought a humidity gauge to see the levels in the glider room. They've gotten fecals too but all good there soo I may try this as well, to see if it helps their fur.

Anita I love dark chocolate. Send it. And thanks for the warning. Better you to be the guinea pig on that one than me. lol

We're going to The Vitamin Shoppe in a little bit. Hopefully they sell it. If not, I found the brand recommended on Amazon.

Ok so I got some Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil tonight, made by Nutiva. It suggests (for humans) 3 tablespoons per day. I threw back one tablespoon already. It's kinda weird. lol It also says you can spread it on bread instead of butter. Yes, I think I'd rather just eat the tablespoons instead of slowly savoring on toast. lol BUT...I let my gliders lick some off of my finger and they seem to love it. Funny enough, they hated coconut water. Really, the human health benefits intriqued me after reading all of that. I'm curious if anyone else incorporates this into their glider's diet.

Anyone?

Also...Anita, don't forget to send me the chocolate recipe!

I looked it up a little bit before going off to school to see if coconuts are naturally from the part of Australia gliders are from and I found the coconut plant on page 16: http://www.derm.qld.gov.au/wildlife-ecosystems/plants/pdf/qld-flora-census.pdf

So maybe it is something they could benefit from since it could have been a tree they might have munched on in the wild.

By the way, I make some mean pumpkin bread for humans using coconut oil and everyone who tries it likes it and are surprised when I say that I used coconut oil. I use it in place of butter and other oils in a lot of baked goods or in combination with butter and I honestly think it tastes great. I haven't put it on toast but I have tried to swallow it alone which wasn't very fun. I would rather put it on some oatmeal or french toast then force it down that way because it can taste good, it doesn't have to be torture.

No. lol It's not very fun.

I didn't create this recipe.

Mary B's Coconut Oil Candy


Ingredients

1/4 cup melted coconut oil
1/4 cup cocoa powder (0.90 oz by weight or 4 level Tablespoons)

1/8th tsp salt
4 tsp Truvia (stevia type) sweetener (I used packets – do not use splenda, it reacts nasty with chocolate)
1/4 tsp vanilla extract
*1/4 cup full fat whipping cream (Heavy Whipping Cream)

1. Measure 1/4 cup melted virgin coconut oil into a small microwave mixing/measuring pitcher...

2. Measure into a microwave safe bowl, 1/4 cup of full fat whipping cream and a 1/4 tsp of vanilla, 1/8th tsp of salt and 4 tsp Truvia sugar substitute and warm in the microwave until the granulated sweetener and salt is dissolved into the liquid. Allow to cool till no longer boiling hot but just warm. (I don't heat it quite that hot, just enough to dissolve the sweetener)

3. Remove the melted oil from the microwave and measure 1/4 cup of cocoa powder into it, mix with a spoon, till you have a chocolate liquid oil

4. Pour the cream mixture into the oil mixture and mix with a hand blender (also known as a stick blender) until emulsified or whisk until smooth and thick ( I don't have a stick mixer but a wire wisk work fine)

5. Spoon into mold, level off and put in the freezer for 10 minutes. (The lid of a plastic butter dish works real good for this, but any small plastic container will work.)

6. Enjoy!

Serves 4 and has 3 carbs per serving,
Makes 4.4 oz total recipe is 12 carbs

The finished product may be stored in the refrigerator and does not need to be stored in the freezer... that is assuming there are leftovers it has yet to make a full day at our house!
-----------------------------------------------

Notes: Added the cocoa powder to the melted oil, stirred in well... added the cream mixture... stirred well... (it was very very liquid and cream not emulsified with the cocoa mixture)... I used the hand blender for about 2 or 3 seconds to emulsify and it quickly turned to a finished very thick pudding like thickness... I quickly spooned it into foil mold, leveled it off and put in freezer for 10 minutes. I used a aluminum foil mold that gave me 3/8ths inch thick finished product. If you wish a thicker chunkier product it will talk longer to harden in the freezer.

It is possible if I had a different temperature (tiny bit warmer) or longer stirring (or used a tiny whisk) it would have emulsified without the stick blender.

no oil separation, firm after 10 minutes in freezer but still easy to unmold and to cut to squares. This is semi-sweet because I don't like overly sweet candy. If you want it sweeter, add more sweetener or if less.. leave some out. I was using a granulated sweetener that was equal to sugar, spoon for spoon.

( I don't mold this. I just slice what I want right out of the container. It's up to you.)
This recipe doubles easily and well.

Made 4.4 oz (2.2 oz each)

If you use the Virgin Coconut oil, your candy will have a slight coconutty flavor. If you don't want that, just use the organic...not the virgin. The organic can be bought in the oil section of Walmart and it's not as pricey as the virgin.


We are on Dinner break. I will be back later.

Thank you!

Ok, I think Mary B is kind of OCD (if ya know what I mean – lol) because those direction are so long. Basically all you gotta do is melt the oil, whisk in the cocoa, warm the cream, add it to the oil/cocoa and whisk.

As long as you keep the oil, cocoa, cream ratio you can play around with the sweetener, or add nuts, seeds, sf coconut, flax seed meal....anything you want. You can use the basic recipe to dip fruits or warm it a little and drizzle over other deserts. Just remember that it is very dark chocolate.

viciousencounters,

It is sad that so little research has been done in the area of the ancestral diet of the Sugar Glider. By that I mean that we know that gliders eat gums, manna, nectar and other things. What we don't seem to have much info on is the nutritional make up of those gums and things. If we had that kind of research available it could help us in determining the best diets for our pets.

It seems to be very controversial as to whether the Coconut Palm is native to Australia. Coconut palms grow abundantly there, as do many palms, but it is not clear if the Coconut are native or planted by mariners. It is my belief that any animal will seek out and eat any food if it is hungry and it is possible that gliders munch out on coconuts where they are available. But for those of us living on the other side of the world, we just don't have that kind of information available. After all Gliders seem to survive on the non native diet that we are able to provide for them here.

BindiAndScrubbie wrote:

Ok so I got some Organic Extra Virgin Coconut Oil tonight, made by Nutiva. It suggests (for humans) 3 tablespoons per day. I threw back one tablespoon already. It's kinda weird. lol It also says you can spread it on bread instead of butter. Yes, I think I'd rather just eat the tablespoons instead of slowly savoring on toast. lol BUT...I let my gliders lick some off of my finger and they seem to love it. Funny enough, they hated coconut water. Really, the human health benefits intriqued me after reading all of that. I'm curious if anyone else incorporates this into their glider's diet.

You threw back a whole TB? So much for starting slow. HaHa Let me know how it goes for you. Your body might be ok with it. We like to say YMMV (your mileage may vary) and it might not have the potty effects on you that it does some people.

Some people eat it right off the spoon, Some stir it into their coffee, some incorporate it into protein shakes. There are many ways to get your daily dose. If you research it there are many sites about the health benefits of VCO. Like with most things, you just have to search out the facts from the hype. I don't put it on bread because I no longer consume grains of any kind. I can tell you...I haven't felt this good in years.

One of the amazing facts about the oil is that it is so easily and quickly absorbed and used for energy. This is why I am thinking about giving it to the gliders. I think as they grow older, their metabolism is slowing a little and like most living creatures, it may be getting harder to utilize carbohydrates. I don't believe that the answer is to add more carbs, so the VCO might be a healthy alternative. Just my thoughts.

Just wondering if anyone adds this to their gliders diet? Have you seen a difference in your gliders? What was your reason for adding it? Do you take it yourself and has it made a difference?
How did you incorporate it into your gliders diet and also your diet?

OK I read the article above...If I used that much Coconut Oil I would get attacked here by all the animal's because they would think I was a walking Coconut   

No but my gliders love coconut water now. I get the kind with the coconut bits (unsweetened) and put a little in a tiny ramekin. They fish out the bits with their hands and drink the rest. I do it a couple of times per month.

Coincidentally, I JUST bought some after reading about it 2 days ago. I hadn't thought about it for my pets but it certainly seems like I should look into it.

I have not used it for my pets. I have used the red palm oil for the birds and gliders, so I'm not sure how far removed from that virgin coconut oil is. ????